Bargad Organisation for Youth Development

BARGAD is a youth led and youth focused organization working for youth development in Pakistan. It has a long and unique standing among civil society organizations in Pakistan that has been working exclusively on youth development since 1997. Its office is in Gujranwala.

BARGAD has risen from a student-led grassroots organization to an umbrella organization for youth groups in Pakistan. After induction of the 18th Amendment to the Pakistani constitution, with support from the UNFPA, it has helped formulating the Punjab Youth Policy formally approved on 28th May 2012; while it is providing similar assistance to the provincial governments of Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the State Government of AJK to develop their youth policies. Prior to this, it developed vision for integrated youth development in Pakistan in collaboration with the UNFPA.

BARGAD also pioneered youth track of peace diplomacy in South Asia involving youth from Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.

With a vast volunteer base, BARGAD’s projects have been collaborated by more than 54 universities. It is a rare organization that has hosted University Vice Chancellors’ conference at the national level and has trained university faculty members, especially the younger lot, on more than 10 occasions on themes ranging from tackling youth extremism, women leadership on campuses to social research methodology.

BARGAD has also generated the biggest pool of youth researches, analysis and data in Pakistan that also involved youth as participants.

The hallmark of the organization is that youth participate in its projects from design to implementation phases, including the financial planning.